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Summary
Summary
Prince Dashing is daring--he bathes in a crocodile-infested moat, he eats while dangling upside down from the tallest trees, and he toasts his s'mores by dragon's breath. Most of the kingdom looks on in horror, but the prince is about to meet his match.
The night of the royal ice cream social, there's a loud ZING-BOING that comes from outside the palace. A girl walks in holding a pogo stick, but when Dashing demands to see it, she's already bouncing off across the room to eat her sundae on the nearest tightrope. The party rages on as the prince catches sprinkles on his tongue and the girl balances waffle cones on the tip of her nose. Dashing roller blades across the grand piano; the girl does a backbend and plays "Für Elise" with her toes.
At the stroke of bedtime, the girl hurries off--without her stick. A blindfolded Dashing ventures out through groups of thugs and past toothy crocodiles, determined to find the stick's owner. Many creatures try the stick, but none are able to re-create that perfect ZING-BOING. It's not until the girl sees FOUND: STICK-THINGY on a poster that she realizes Dashing has her stick, and now she's off to retrieve it. This Stickerella isn't waiting around for her Prince Charming, but the two adventurers are destined for a future of fearless fun and friendship.
Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers--picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Author Notes
Marilou T. Reeder received a Barbara Karlin Grant letter of merit in 2009. In 2010, she was awarded the SCBWI Pocono Mountain Retreat author scholarship, for writers who show exceptional promise. When she is not writing for children, she keeps busy with freelance business and technical writing. She currently resides in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Karl West is a freelance illustrator, doodler, and full-time coffee drinker. He produces both traditional and digital work from his studio in Dorset, England.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-A daring prince meets his match and then loses her in this Cinderella-esque story of a boy, a girl, and a pogo stick. Prince Dashing is an adventurous lad who doesn't think twice about bathing with crocodiles, toasting s'mores by way of dragon's breath, or catapulting himself from the castle onto his faithful steed. A chance encounter with a mysterious girl on a pogo stick leaves the prince feeling like he's met his match. She rushes out of the party at bedtime, leaving behind her pogo stick, which is picked up by the prince and inspires him to go on a quest to find her. The prince insists on going blindfolded in order to locate this mysterious girl by the sound the pogo stick makes, but he winds up in a zoo where various animals play with the "stick-thingy." The illustrations have an animated cartoon quality that works well to show off the prince and the girl's ridiculous antics, and the text is full of clever phrases that reframe the classic fairy tale to feature two kids being kids and pulling off outlandish stunts. VERDICT With just the right amounts of silliness and playfulness, this is an easy story for a wide range of readers to enjoy over and over.-Matthew C. Winner, Ducketts Lane Elementary School, Elkridge, MD © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A daredevil prince meets his perfect Cinderella, and they begin a "most adventurous friendship." Bathing in the crocodile-filled moat and toasting marshmallows by dragon's breath are par for the course for Prince Dashing. At the royal ice cream social, he meets a blonde who can keep up with his crazy anticsplaying "Fr Elise" with her toes while doing a backbend while the prince roller-blades across the top of the piano. But at the stroke of bedtime, she is gone, leaving behind only her pogo stick, which the prince calls a "stick-thingy." The girl who can make the right sound with the stickZING-BOING!will be the honored guest at the prince's birthday party. But of course, the prince can't do things the easy way; he will search for "Stickerella" blindfolded, which makes for lots of humorous mishaps and near misses. West's brightly colored vignette and double-page-spread illustrations are full of funny details, especially the scenes in the zoo. Nicely, this fairy-tale heroine isn't in need of savingthere's no stepmother and no forced labor, though she does clean her own home. For those kids who find nasty sisters, cleaning, and losing a shoe to be too tame, this is a daredevil alternative. (Fractured fairy tale. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
